well, momma okunade left earlier this week and all i have to show for it is a clean flat, lots of good food in my refrigerator, and peace of mind while i drive (my mom, who's normally tense when others are driving, was even more tense, cluthcing on to the brake for dear life and probably holding her breathe the whole time; promise i'm not that bad a driver). thanks mom.

the week was really busy, so i didn't get a chance to take time off and hang out with mom, but during the weekend we did find out where humankind originates (right here in the caves of jo-burg!...) and where humankind asserts its domination over all other species (at carnivore, the meat/game eaters' heaven). in other words, on sat we went crawling through the cradle of mankind caves and museum (my mom did it in a dress and heels...impressive):

and then we went to have lunch/dinner at this restaurant called carnivore, where they just keep bring you all kinds of meat until u put ur flag down. we had crocodile, antelope, kudu, ostrich, alligator, and the boring ones, chicken, beef, pork, etc. i was soo disappointed cuz people told me about having zebra and i was really looking forward to it, but they brought out no zebra. and when i asked them they told me they had none. too bad, i'll have to go back soon. anyway, we were both pretty full for the next 2 days:

check out the rest of the pics: here

in other news: i don't normally follow british politics that much (except for occasionally watching the absolutely hilarious british parliament session on c-span), but i just have to comment on the british foreign minister, david miliband. this dude must be one of the stupidest guys around, in my opinion. i say this on one basis only. he's here in sa, basically trying to drum up support for his zim solution. btw, he's pretty much alone in this solution he's preaching. this solution includes the following: disregard the run-off elections (fair enough) and recognize the march election, declare morgan tsvangirai as the president of zim and depose bobb mugabe (hmm...). this is stupid. thats the best way i can put it. here's the issue: if you legitimize the results of the march elections, then you MUST legitimize the rules under which those election results were received. the rules of the elections say that a candidate must get higher than 50% to win the presidency, otherwise there will be a run off. now im not defending bobb by any means (neither, btw, do i think morgan would be that great a person/leader), but i'd like to defend rational thought. now a better position would be to reject both elections and results as flawed and call for new elections or some kind of unity government. but accepting the results of one election, while making up new rules by which these results should be judged doesnt really make sense, does it. thank britain, once again, for your strong and useful insight into african politics.

back to the us: apparently b-obama is anti-dumb. check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10collins.html?hp

also, what's up with all the craziness about b-obama moving to the centre? this is politics 101. plus he never claimed that he wanted to be president solely for lefties (see his 2004 convention speech). i like how the economist put it: (along the lines of) The real issue is that barack has not moved far enough to the center..."Mr Obama needs to embrace centrism as a matter of conviction rather than flirting with it as an instrument of political expediency."

f*** the po-po

first the good news:
- happy 7th month anniversary to me. i've now been in sa for about 7months, and this is only significant because i meant to post a happy 6th month (1/2 yr) anniversary to me and i forgot, so this will have to do. 7 months seem like a long time, but it really hasnt felt that long, and i still consider myself a newbie.

- mama okunade (i.e. my mom) is coming to visit. tomorrow. so looking forward to seeing her and getting some good home cooking. finally. um, not that thats the only reason i love my mum. don't be offended, feminists!

- congrats to madiba (i.e. nelson mandela) on being 90. well, he's not really 90 yet, but the celebrations are under way. the huge one in london was very good, it was broadcast here as well. looking forward to seeing whats planned for when he's back here. on a tangent...sometimes its sad to look back at the man/icon and see what he's been through and accomplished, and then look at where sa seems to be headed now. im holding out hope tho. another tangent, kudos to madiba for rebuking bob mugabe (i'll get to him later); take a hint, mbeki.

now the crazy stuff:
- back to mugabe; or bobby as i say, cuz we tight like that. congrats on the sham election. the man is ancient anyway, he's gotta decay soon, ne? you know some "christians" apparently were all upset that he said that only god can remove him from office. now why would you be upset at that. first, you have to ask which god he's referring to. then instead of crying foul, tell u what you do: get on your knees, arms in the air, and pray day and night that mugabe's wish comes true, and that god does remove him...and, i mean, this can be in the form of a sniper, or the nigerian style "heart-attack slash food poisoning slash old age". god works in mysterious ways, i say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

- a wk ago i filled up the tank in my tiny car. it cost me 500 rand. thats close to $70. and thats after the guy tried to top me off and i had to stop him at 500. 500! even in the US, 70 bucks is a lot of money. but this is south africa. average incomes are about 50-60% of the avg in the US. and we're paying so much more for gas. further, its been announced that prices will go up again on tuesday or wed by 12-15%. moh-fugga wha??! so yea, quit ur b**ch'n americans and go ride the damn bus/train.

caveat: this post has and will likely contain more french. I want to apologize now. I'm only foul when I'm pushed to it!

- last week wednesday, some people here decided to hold a protest/strike on the highway in johannesburg central, where i work now. this protest not only disturbed the flow of traffic at the time people got off work, it actually completely halted traffic on the highway and on some of the local roads. so here i was heading home, feeling pretty good, cuz u know, i was done with work for the day. all of a sudden i notice that what is supposed to be the on-ramp to the highway that i take has somehow become an off ramp and i can't get onto the highway (in hindsight, it was probably very well that i didnt, as traffic was stopped for 3+ hours on the highway. completely stopped, not just slow).

problem #1, the highway is the ONLY way i know how to get home. seeing that i couldn't get on, i decide to do what i've learned to do now when i'm lost: follow the car in front of me. so i did that for a bit. then decided to call some people when i realized i had no idea where i was. that helped for a bit (like a block and a half). then more traffic. in about 2 hours i had managed to move about 2 blocks away from the office building. when i managed to look up and see my office building i decided to just go back to the office and wait the stupid thing out (esp. after hearing on the radio that everywhere was packed). getting back to the office, 1 block away took me another 30 minutes, and that was that short because much hated and antagonized taxi drivers actually got out of their taxis and helped traffic along in the streets of town.

so on my way up the elevator from the parking lot, i, very coincidentally, ran into my client, who had been on the top floor of the office building apparently planning is route out of town. after unsuccessfully describing to me how to get out of town and skip the protests by using some route through the infamous nigerian, drug-dealing district, we decided that i would just follow him. thankfully, he eventually got me out onto another highway, free from protests and i got home. throughout this adventure, i must admit i went from thinking this was pretty funny (haha onramp becomes onramp, ladiladi-har), to being kinda frustrated, to being utterly pissed off and wanting to get out my rifle and go shooting some game (sorry, animal-lovers, but as a card carrying member of the NRA, i have my god-given rights!).

here's a pic of what the craziness looked like, but this doesnt really do it justice; it was much worse than this:



so who were the perpetrators of this bedlam? the f**king police. thats who. the decided to protest their salary by holding up traffic, like kidnappers holding down their hostages. now, i used to really hate protest, but my stance has softened a bit. and i do realize its a way of life in places like south africa or france. and i can understand u demanding better pay (don't we all). BUT, what the hell, do I have to do with you getting a pay raise. my point is, a protest/strike must be well planned out, well target, and well executed to be fully effective. why piss people off that have no effect on your situation. there were people that urgently needed to get home or to their kids, or people like me who had no clue how to get around that were stuck on the highway or in the streets of the city. why not go hold up your employees in their offices? the people actually empowered to make these decisions. and their actions created such madness in the city. criminals could go wild, cuz the cops weren't gonna stop them; they were busy doing their own criminal acts. at one point another police unit was dispatched to quell the craziness on the highway, so they decided to use rubber bullets to scatter the cops that were protesting. and what do the protesters do? they bring out their real guns and start shooting. hah, this is almost comical. if it wasn't so bloody ridiculous.

my argument i guess is kind of moot, as now the protesting cops have reached an agreement with their bosses which im sure includes some pay raise. still, im pissed off.

random post 328950: today, my church announced that one pastor was leaving the church and that another one would take over. the importance of this is the one taking over is a black african (s africa has made me reallly color conscious, sorry). this is really an interesting move, as this church is mostly white and trying really hard to get involved in the black community. this black guy is an awesome guy tho and now he will be heading the leadership team at the church. he's been at the vineyard for 20+ years and preaching at this vineyard on and off for something like 3+ years and very much respected by all members (as far as i can tell). i cant help but wonder tho: how many whites are gonna start leaving the church now?...

politics and condolences

well, i tried to keep my mouth shut, but it was way too difficult. i have to have a thread congratulating b-obama for his victory as the democratic nominee for us president (i also congratualte myslef for successfully turning my us-citizen parents away from hillary-inevitability to hard core obama supporters; pat on the back for me!). its really an extremely historic and important moment for america, no matter what happens next. even the entire world (definitely here in africa) are going crazy over this accomplishment. it's also highlighting the exceptional nature of the US - the part that most people admire and love and have easily forgotten about the last 7 years while focusing on the bush-man foreign policy of the current administration. the day after b-obama won the nomination (even with hilary's "i'm making no decision's tonight" speech) all the major newspapers here had obama on the front page, countless op-eds were written about it, and radio stations were going crazy. thomas friedman, of the new york times, wrote an excellent piece highlighting the moment in the context of egyptian society today, again re-iterating the fact that in many parts of the world, a story like barack obama's can never happen. an excerpt:

Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the "idea of America" - this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.

Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th

point # 454: after being severely disappointed at clinton's speech the day b-obama won the nomination, the night of the last primaries, i was just as pleased at the excellent concession speech she gave a couple days later (even with her fuzzy math relating to # of votes she got). my beef now is passed on to the ultra-feminists that say they refuse to vote for b-obama, but would rather vote for mccain. heh, explain this to me please...u'd rather vote against all ur beliefs (abortion, equal rights, etc) than vote for someone who is more aligned to ur beliefs but just happened to fairly beat your candidate. sorry to be heartless, but this seems like some of hillary's supporters are the sorriest losers around. i can concede that there were some elements of sexism in the campaign, however, how much of this was obama's fault (shouldn't we look at the media or american sentiment or even john mccain, who when he was asked, "so how do you beat the bitch", he made no gesture to correct or repudiate the questioner). i don't really see the complaint here, b-obama followed the rules by taking his name off ballot in michigan, didnt campaign in florida and realized the game was a delegate game (and not a # of votes game) and he won by the rules. clinton tried to bend the rules at the end, and even with obama conceding some votes in mi and fl, she still lost. good fight fought. there can only be one winner. there was. and there were losers. time to move on. consider me heartless, but don't hate the player, hate the game.

point 8973: the fist pump between b-obama and mrs. obama was probly the best moment i've seen in politics in a long time. that was pretty cool. and it showed that political couples can still have fun sometimes. with all the fake and orchestrated smiles and appearances its too easy to see political couples as nothing more than arranged marriages and to see a couple do something spontaneous like that makes it look like they at least like each other. plus its hip. com 'on.

point 54732: what a terrible speech by mccain. i used to like this guy but couple things ticked me off. first, i dont really remember him congratulating b-obama and the moment that just passed. i mean, even g-dubbs (president george w. bush), not thought of the most amicably in the black community, congratulated b-obama and the historical moment. mccain, however...who advises this guy. first u cant compete with b-obama in making speeches (or reading off a telli-prompter, for that matter). 2nd, the few times the camera showed the audience, this was just sad. forced claps, smiles, old white people (not that theres anything wrong with this group; i like y'all), but a speech like mccain's would not have been as severely criticized, if it was not juxtaposed to that of obama's an hr later. it was just not a good comparison. sorry johnny.

point 347: as many of you know, i like us politics. one reason: it takes my mind off of african politics (for at least 2 seconds). in nigeria: well, its nigeria. violence still raving, who knows how long the president will live (health reasons) and the jury is still out on how effective he can be even after a full year. in sa: the president is lamer than a lame duck. i think his actions now are just to spike his opponents. in the near future, JZ is coming to power, with his what 6 wives and corruption charges pending. and ahh, in nearby zim: ole boy bob mugabe warned that his staunchest supporters were ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election. this is after several beatings and killings of opponent tsvangirai's supporters; tsvangirai's deputy is currently in jail awaiting trial for treason. this really troubles me. the zims that i've met are some of the nicest, smartest people i know. they are also calm people (in general, minus mugabe and his drugged up army). i doubt they will take to the streets or perform a kenya still revolt if (i should say when) bob wins the upcoming run-off. so im pondering when should we declare silent diplomacy and civil disobedience a failure? i'm all for civil disobedience, don't get me wrong, but a part of me knows that something drastic has to happen in zim; the situation is just way too dire. but as the population continues to be subdued by mugabe and his guns, what should the citizens do. just sit there and hope? too often many africans have tried this to their detriment. south africa certainly will do nothing. the un has been allowed to monitor the elections and i can declare right now that they will report that the whole thing was a scam (plus most except for the absolute bravest of the opposition supporters will not show up to vote after being intimidated). then there will be a outcry, but the un is powerless to do anything. so the world will just wait until the situation is no longer on the front page, while civilian atrocities continue in the country. god help zim.

finally, point 9346034: my ultimate sincere condolences to NBS broadcast journalist, Tim Russert, who suddenly died yesterday. I'm really saddened by this. The guy was one of the best and my favorite tv journalist. he did the sunday morning meet the press (also one of my favorite shows) and asked some of the toughest questions ive ever heard an american journalist ask. his death was sudden and unexpected and he will be greatly missed. RIP Tim Russert.

back home

made it back to sa in one piece and i gotta say the flight back was probably the best flight i was on. after a 5 hr layover at washington dulles airport and a terrible lunch i paid ~17 bucks for, i went to my gate and asked if i could get a window seat (since i requested for one when i booked, but they gave me an aisle instead). the bi-polar lady at the desk seemed nice at first, then turned cold and told me (in not-so-friendly terms) that the plan was full and there was nothing she could do. she then took my passport and ticket, typed something in her little computer, and gave me my ticket back; then said something in whatever language i couldnt understand (or maybe i just wasnt listening), but she was back to being friendly again. getting on the plane, i went to my aisle seat, sat down, put my bag up, tried to psyche myself into thinking an aisle seat was really the best way to go, anxiously awaiting probably the most "horizontally-challenged" person on the flight to come sit next to me. then they start making the awesome pre-flight announcements and the doors start closing, and still the seat next to me remained empty. i try my darndest to hold in my anxiety. it wasn't until the plane started moving and i cleared my eyes, twice, that i let out an extended smile at the empty window seat next to me. i had my 2 seat row all to myself. for 18 hrs. simply beautiful. i proceeded to lift up the arm rest. get out my blanket, pillow, and a good book and laid across the seats. i was briefly interrupted by the attendant telling me i had to sit up and put down my arm rest for take off, but luckily she left after 2 seconds and the armrest was back up and the laying down resumed.

back to my trip, i had a lot of fun in chicago/ st. louis. I definitely didn't get a chance to do all i'd like to do and see people that i'd like to have seen (sorry guys), but overall it was good. i didn't know how i would feel coming back to sa; maybe i would really miss the states and want to immediately go back. but it was kinda weird that on the way back from the airport i felt really good as if i was back home. it was a good feeling. also, i felt more comfortable driving here than i did driving in the us (i can't remember the countless times i hit the curb in the US or went to change the gear with my left hand.) still, of course, sa drives on the wrong side of the street! here are some observations from being back in the us and then back in sa:

Notes from chicago:
--it was late may and i was freezing my ass off. what was up with that. i get to chicago with my warm clothes, looking forward to some sun and all i get is windy and cold. not happy. started getting warmer near the end of my trip

--i enjoyed, a bit too much, getting to walk around. a lot. even tho it was a bit chilly, i walked (instead of driving) to work every day, walked to lunch, dinner, and sometimes just walked around aimlessly. i can't describe very well how awesome that was. i dont get to do that in sa.

--i accomplished my 2 most important goals in the first hour of landing: 1. get a starbucks coffee; 2. get some chipotle (i would have chipotle 3 more times)

--i couldn't get used to so many cops on the highway stopping people for speeding. what a foreign concept!

Notes from being back in SA:
--as mentioned, for some reason im more used to driving here now. i almost got into some funny situations in the US trying to drive on the other side of the street.

--i dont like walking up the stairs to my apartment door. reason: on both sides of me lives a couple indian families. walking up the stairs to my place i can smell the most delicious smelling foods and i get so angry knowing there's absolutely no chance its coming from my place. i've been close many times to knocking on their door. when i got back on monday, it was even worse, because i knew i had literally no food at my place (i think i had 1/4 bag of chips, but i let a friend stay at my place while i was gone and he cleaned me out of that! heh, it's all good).

--i thought jet lag didnt really hit me. that is, until friday. i went right to work at 730 on tuesday and started on a new proj in town and pretty much have been working 12hr+ days. when i woke up on friday, i felt like absolute crap. i couldnt physically get myself up for a while, and after i did, i knew right away that i would not make it through the day (at least not well). had a pounding headache all day and could barely concentrate on work or what my mgr was saying. anyway, i finally got some much needed sleep and refused to wake up this morning until almost 2pm.

--back to the new proj i started. its in downtown joburg, so i get to finally spend some more time down there. some "interesting" observations so far:
- i dont have a parking pass yet for the garage, so i park on the street (which is not always advisable), cross my fingers, say a prayer, and head to the building.
- whoever designed the elevators must've thought he/she was really cool, but i havent decided what my assessment is yet. for these elevators, you have to choose which floor you're going to before you enter the elevator. then the screen tells you which elevator to go to. the doors open you enter and it takes u to ur flr. no buttons inside the elevator! i mean, what if i change my mind..
- the bathrooms are also very interesting. as in, i have to laugh a bit everytime i go in. first there are 3 stalls, only the first one is not really a stall. it's got a stall door, but when you open it, u see 2 small urinals. so in theory 2 people could use this stall. so that begs the question: should you close the stall door when you use the urinals. if u close the door than ur taking away someone else's right and privilege to use the 2nd urinal. however, if u recall, i mentioned these urinals are small and allow for next to zero privacy. so if you leave the stall door open and someone decides to use the second urinal, you take away that person's right (as he opens the door) to not be scarred for life, and/or vise versa. hence the dilemma
- 2nd thing about the bathroom. as u finish with your duty, u go to wash your hands, of course. well, after i did this the first time, i then turned to what looked like it was the place to get the paper towel to dry my hands. but it was not. in fact, it was some kind of container and inside this container were some always useful condoms. no i didn't mis-speak, they gave out free condoms at work, in the bathroom (mind u i dont work at an aids clinic or anything even remotely close to a clinic). i guess gone are the times when they only give out free condoms at junior high schools and ultra liberal universities...

a tribute to matt and melanie

as some of you noted, my posts have been coming less and less often. i kinda have an excuse this time - i was away from all forms of civilization...in downtown chicago.

well, before I rant on about my trip to the states, i'd like to share an email i sent to 2 of the best people i know. for the last 7 years, matt and melanie have led a program in innercity st. louis, teaching, tutoring, mentoring, feeding kids anywhere from 4yrs old (maybe even younger) to 18+. I worked with them for about 4 or 5 years when i was in st.louis/chicago. This is a very young white couple, living and working in an area of st. louis that is pretty close to if not 100% black. They are also 2 of the most courageous people i know having withstood violence and threats only to be adored and loved by the kids and some of the parents they serve. when i went home last weekend, i learnt that they were leaving to build up their own relationship with one another and with god. everyone that was there when the news broke busted in tears and they will sincerely be missed. i know a ministry is not about individuals, but they have definitely left a lasting impact on the kids as well as the adults they worked with.

Hey Matt/Melanie,

I just made it back to SA; I wish i could've got to hang out with you guys more when i was in st. louis, but i was there for such a short time. i'm glad though that i at least got to see y'all for the 2 minutes i was around. you're probably used to me not showing too much emotion, but when i heard that you guys were leaving north city, i was completely stunned. in fact, i almost lost it when i went up to hug Melanie and she just about fell to the floor with what i'm sure was a mix of emotions. even now, its tough for me to write this; but i wanted to send you an email just to let you know how much you guys have meant to me (you should already know the immense impact that you have had, and will continue to have, on the kids of north city).

My college experience and my life now would not be the same at all if I had not met you guys and if you had not helped me get involved at the training center, then later at north city. I still remember my first day at the training center, meeting you and the kids for the first time, playing basketball (or desperatley failing at it) with the kids and helping melanie in the kitchen with food preparation later on. I really enjoyed my time, but like others from WashU who were there, I wasn't really sure I'd be back. But for some reason, I tapped into my crazy side and kept coming back! and i've been absolutely blessed from it.

I'll never forget my first camp with the kids. Actually I remember before I even got there, matt had promised to put me with the "easy", "young" kids; it would be a breeze. and then i got there and was put in charge of controlling and mentoring the roudiest, craziest, old kids. I can't say that I was really excited for the week at that moment, but, matt, i owe a lot to you for that opportunity. you obviously saw something in me that i have never seen and i had a blast with these kids; obviously hindsight is golden and there were some interesting moments, but overall, the experience taught me a great deal and i hope i was able to at least touch the kids in some way. from then on, every other camp i helped at, i was with the group labelled as roudy, crazy, and old. i also remember my first really testy moment when i thought my head was about to be smashed in by an 11yr old. somehow, matt heard what was going on from all the way across the camp and i'll never forget the way you responded. guys, these kids love you so much not because you give them things, but because you treat them the way they should be treated; you hold them when they need to be held, you discipline them [very harshly, at times!] when they need to be disciplined; you teach them about consequences to their actions; you're mostly playful with them at the right times; and you reward them when they've done well. they love you so much because in you, they learn what it is to have a loving home (something many of them don't get in their places of living) and you show them a bit of what God's unconditional love is like.

I can't end without mentioning the strengths I've seen and learned from melanie. Melanie, you also saw things in me that i didn't realize i had or wanted to show. I think you realized how frustrated and tired i was during the first camp with the kids and you wrote me a message that i still keep in my bible. you may have even forgotten, but your message meant a lot to me; you said: "I know you made some sacrifices to come this week and i'm so grateful that you did. your infinite patience, willingness, and good nature shine through - even though you're stuck with a challenging group :) I know you're tired, and we have worked you to death, but please know your work has not gone unnoticed or in vain. Sowing seed takes a lot of work and you are a sower of many!" Maybe, you said some of those things so that I wouldn't just bolt and take off that week (I'm not so sure i'm the most patient person, heh!), but it did mean a lot to me to have you say those things. secondly, i will also never EVER forget this past summer when you (all 100 lbs of you) can charging into the boys camp to have a face-to-face (or maybe spit-to-face) not-so-calm convo with anthony (all 300+lbs of anthony). anthony later confessed to me that he was a second away from punching you; instead, he retreated, balled his eyes out, and reflected on what you said. I'm sure you guys talked later, but i remember him saying he was going to apologize to you and those he wronged and that what you said hit the spot with him. another reason these kids love you guys (and i could go on and on with this) is that you treat them all as individuals (boys and girls, men and women). too often, programs look for a one stop shop to "solve" every kids problems. but you guys never did that. you made it a point to get to know the kids and their families as much as you could and then treat each of them as an individual (what you did with anthony probably may not have worked with someone else). trust is such a huge thing with the kids, and you showed them from the start that they could trust you to be there for them.

Like I said, I could go on with examples of all the lessons you've taught me and things I have witnessed in your lives. You have made an impact of so many people lives; definitely the kids and certainly the adults that have worked with you. I only wish I can have the passion in my life like the one that you guy showed in working with the North City kids. Everytime i think of you guys, i always wonder how such a young couple could have so much passion and courage to deal with so many death threats, shooting, rejections, pain, and yet still persevere with such joy. I know it wasn't always easy (or probably was never easy), but I want you to know that what you have done in just 7 years has not gone unnoticed in the city of St. Louis. it's also meant a lot to me.

"To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

I know you guys need this break and I know you will figure things out, for sure. I also know that you're not done making a difference in people's lives. Keep doing what you do! God bless.

Love you both,
Folu

Some cool pics of matt, melanie, and the kids:

so much more here.

"xenophobia"

so as i leave jo-burg (for a couple weeks anyway), the country is going through a pretty crazy time. apparently people don't like us foreigners. for over a week now (or 2), "xenophobic" attacks has gripped the country, particularly in the townships (though its now moving to the city center). these are not just some minor protests, but actually locals wounding and killing (shooting, setting on fire, hacking...) foreigners, mostly from zim (but from other countries as well). many more foreigners have had to flee from their homes and stay in shelters and police stations just to avoid being attacked and killed.

and people said the craziness in zimbabwe was not the concern of south africa.

what is also surprising is the response from the government. after waiting an entire FIVE days to comment, the president finally acknowledged that there was a problem and it should be addressed. after waiting a couple more days he took "decisive" action this weekend by announcing that a panel had been set up to look into the attacks. i repeat, as the violence and killing escalate daily (even hourly), the president decides that what's most needed is a panel. A FREAKING PANEL. why the hell do we africans like to talk about stuff and not provide any actions?? it beats me. at least some of the local leadership and the police have stepped in to try to help, but every once in a while it'd be nice to have some backing from the top.

i think i shouldn't be surprised at the inaction of this administration anymore. this is the same president that went to zim after the electoral commission refused to release the election results and violence against the opposition supporters was increasing and declared: "there's no crisis in zimbabwe". right. this is the same president who sacks his health ministers cuz shes actually trying to do something to curb the spread of AIDS. right. this is the same administration that is part of a coalition in the UN security council blocking more decisive humanitarian action by the UN to provide aid and relief to residents of Myanmar. right.

alright, i've calmed down a bit...back to the attacks. apparently some locals believe that foreigners are taking jobs that "belong" to them and are doing so for less money (kinda remind you of the mexican situation in the states?). i think this issue needs to be addressed very forcefully, because it will not go away easily. some people need to realize that we live in a global society (SA especially is a melting pot filled with a ridiculous melange of people from different parts of the world). the government also needs to address this in 2 ways: 1. the legitimate claim of many s africans not having jobs. this includes education and up-skilling to fill more specialized jobs; and 2) the illegitimate use of violence as a recourse (not that violence is ever legitimate). I've always believed that violent people will act upon their violence regardless of what the situation around them is. only at times, do they find an outlet/excuse that actually makes them seem legitimate (like foreigners taking jobs, or many other times, religion). so these perpetrators of violence are nothing more than cruel and crazy people that desire to do harm to people. now they have an excuse to use.

there's no happy ending to this post. but i hope something is done quickly about this situation. otherwise, south africa, once a hopeful place, may resemble kenya. and then we'll have the west saying again: here we go again with africans.

coming home

edit: hey mom, happy mothers day; love ya!

for the hundreds, if not thousands, of you that were already preparing that food basket to send me some chipotle, thanks, but it won't be necessary; i'm coming home! yep, thats right. i've had it with south africa, can't take it anymore, packing my stuff, and heading back home where the grass is green and the billows roll. something like that. well, its not that drastic. but i am going/coming to chicago/st. louis in less than 2 wks (may 20) for about 2wks for work training. i'll be in chi-town for the week, probably spend parts of the weekend in stl and then head back to chi. so, if you're around those parts, def let me know and we can hook up. should be good times.

the serious section:
people are always asking about whats going on in my head, what im thinking. u know, cuz i'm an ultra complicated, complex, hard-to-figure out kinda guy (not really). but i thought i'd give my millions of readers a bit of a glimpse into the more serious thoughts i've been having lately. this should be nothing surprising for those who know me. if anyone has ever heard barack obama speak, u've probably heard him say something along the lines of trusting the americans to be smart enough to know that [fill in blank] or better, having faith in the general human decency. all this of course makes for a great speech and speaks to the humanitarian/world peace/noble side of us (at least those that went to ultra liberal schools and still have dreams of bringing about world peace, ending hunger, ridding the world of all evils, and, u know, solving all the world's problems in one go, while we sit at starbucks and sip our lattes). not to say that i still don't hold those naive dreams and aspirations, but isn't it sad that the more you know about the world, the more less you believe in this thing called "human decency"? at least i think thats what's happening with me, as much as you can try and block it out and focus on world peace and other froo-froo stuff.

lately i've been reading an interesting biography and a couple of the sections were on the rwandan, burundi, somalia crises, as well as others. to read the history of these conflicts does not lead to a better understanding of who was right or who was wrong, which side was evil and which was good, or even who was responsible and how to resolve it. what it did to me was to have me question just how good us humans are. are we really innately decent? many political theorists/philosophers subscribe to the belief that humans are, in fact, pre-disposed to being bad or evil and that we have to work within the context of the society we live to actually be good. that the driving factor for humans is self-reliance or survival of the fittest, or whatever you want to call it. so who are we, mr obama and others, to attempt to reach out to the basic good that relies in people. i also watched a documentary about a catholic school during the rwandan crisis that housed primarily children from the minority and was being guarded by UN peacekeepers. as the conflict began spiraling out of control, the troops were given direct orders from the US/UN to immediately evacuate all the foreigners in the complex. as the bus-load pulled away, one of the rwandan teachers in the complex read a letter to the commander, written and endorsed by those that were going to be left behind and immediately killed by the hundreds/thousands of rwandans waiting outside the gates with weapons, ready to pounce on the school as soon as the foreigners left. the jist of the letter asked the commander to shoot each and every one of them with their guns, because they'd rather die with one shot to the head, than be hacked to death by machetes and kitchen knives.

These kinds of stories are not unique to rwanda. they're not unique to africa or black people or the developing world. they're not unique to muslim countries or christian countries. throughout history we see events like this in every single continent in every single corner of the world. humans are humans. we still witness these events today; in case you've missed the news lately, i hear there's some stuff going on in iraq, afghanistan, lebanon, israel, zimbabwe, and on and on. just like in the rwandan genocide, many times these are not strangers attacking and brutally murdering one another, but often neighbors, family members, people you grew up with, went to school, church with. so where is this inbred human decency. seems we have to work pretty damn hard to find it, have it, and keep it.

i think this is why i admire the older people that i meet who still hold out hope and belief that we have good blood in us and that together, we can resolve/mitigate many of the problems we face today. hopefully people like that continue to spew their hope-mongering, because it won't take long, without that, for people like me to lose all hope.

edu-macate yoselves: “Of course, hope alone is not enough, but it’s not trivial. It’s not trivial to inspire people to want to get up and do something with someone else.”

a v good bday wknd

phew...i waited a quarter of a century for this moment! sounds like a long time, hey! i'm getting seriously old, man. anyway i had a really good saturday, and then a relaxing sunday and monday (with a bit of a stomach ache mixed in).

at the risk of being "TOTALLY OBLITERATED" by billary, i have a bit of bone to pick, with society. it has to do with a certain double standard in our world today. saturday i was set to have a bit of a rendez-vous lunch with someone at a nearby mall (of course), so of course (being the gentleman that i am) i got there in good time, maybe even a bit early. well, this someone didn't end up showing up for a good 1.5hours after said rendez-vous time. what's up with that. now, the whole time i was thinking, if the roles were reversed, and i was an hr and a half late, any girl would have jetted off long ago and not waited at all. but being a good guy i waited. and waited. she finally showed up, and i guess, redeemed herself by being pleasant during lunch. so lunch was v good. then i had to immediately jet from there and go clean up my place and prepare some munchies (probly the most i've cooked in a while, and it was just a couple of snacks...). i wasn't really done with all that before people started showing up, but we had a good time at my place for a couple hours, then off to dinner and other fun activities, saturday night. the night was good, and then i woke up thanks to my parents early birthday call (thanks mom/dad!), and then the stomach ache(s) began and lasted most of the day. that was not so fun. we also had monday off (cuz SA realizes its my bday and we need an extra day off to celebarte the momentous event) and i had lunch with some other friends and took care of some errands, blah blah...here a few pics from sat night:

mysteries. revealed.

yoh! its been a while since i posted i know, but nothing really earth shattering happening in the part of the world lately (minus zim); so consider this a coffee table, easy read:

--I finally made it to alexander this weekend; about time, i know. alexandra is one of the largest and most populated and poorest urban areas in the country. and is nicely situated right beside sandton, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. the difference between this area and sandton or fourways (where i live) is stark. i commented to my boy that it reminded me of a lot of places in lagos (also extremely populated), except most of the roads were paved here. i thought that was pretty impressive (or strange): ridiculously run down and unfinished shacks on either side and paved roads with speed bumps intersecting them. anyway, we had an extremely delicious lunch (one of the best ive had since ive been here). i dont fully know what to make of the experience yet, but im sure i'll let y'all updated.

--went to see the wits choir again on sat night and it was awesome (again). they did a collaboration with a band made up of 2 guys (called themselves "five men 3 missing"). apparently they were a bit nervous about doing this collaboration as it was their first time ever, but it actually turned out really well. the 2 guys seriously sounded like 5 men playing; they had i think 4 guitars, an electric drum set, some mixing equipment, etc. im not one that knows a lot about music or creativity, but i must say it was altogether pretty impressive.

--sunday at soccer i got my first save as well as first assist, after many many weeks of playing. whatever, man, i'm a true defender! my job comes in blocking shots, not scoring. and if anyone asks me when ill get my first goal, i'll hurt u!...for now, im satisfied with a save and an assist.

--so the big news is i've started seriously studying for the gmat (standardized test for mba applicants), i guess, looking beyond life at my current job (dont tell anyone!). I'm still not sure when i'll actually start grad school and also not completely sure it'll be an mba (still considering development studies), but at some point i'll be going to some school, prefereably in south africa. i should say tho, that after so being bored with work for so long, it seems like things are picking up and i'm getting busier, and more importantly, we're starting to look to do things that are pretty exciting (hows that for vague...)

--another discovery: my fellow st. louis-ans can take refuge in the fact that i've found people that are bigger "rubber-neckers" than them. st. louis is known for its rubber-necking, apparently (the act of twisting, bending, and extending your neck to watch some kind of accident or occurence on the road; this is always directly and positively porportional to the amount of pressure applied to the brake pad). joburg-ians, i believe, are much bigger rubber-neckers. i've noticed this on at least 2 separate occasions now as i'm driving along and wondering why traffic's so backed up at a non-peak hour, then get up to the spot of the accident and immediately after passing, the road is completely clear. eish!

--many of u (probly very few) will remember one of my early posts about finding an answer to the question of what the hell am i doing here in sa. well i think i found the answer. answer = FATE. my birthday ( coming up sunday april 27th) just happens to fall on the same day as "Freedom Day. Freedom day is South Africa's independence day, kind of, when in 1994 the first democratic elections were held; also the day in 1997 when the new constitution took effect. so there. hope that answers all the critics. also it means that SA gives me a day off every year on my birthday. this year it'll be on monday. holla.

--im starting to miss certain aspects of the US. most recently, its Qdoba, the best tex-mexican food that side of the atlantic. mmm, qdoba, uve been on my mind all week now. and if any of you consider yourselves true friends, u'll go get some chicken fajita burrito (both medium and hot sauce, green peppers and onions, no beans), package it in those spiffy stay fresh packages and send it my way. you'd def be my top friend. hmph.

Drakensberg

So I took this past friday and monday off to make it an extended weekend getaway to the mountains of drakensberg (the highest in southern africa). the weekend was a lot of fun (though my knees and ankles don't think its very funny...), but now i'm back to work and thats not nearly as fun. here is a brief picture description of what happened. you can find the entire picture album at : http://picasaweb.google.com/okunadef/Drakensberg.

we got there sometime friday evening, all smiles, not knowing what was ahead, and this was the view at the "tower of pizza"- where we stayed:

after a good nights rest and yummy pizza, i brush up on my zulu/xhosa/tswana, and we started on the hike for day one:

after 20 minutes, we (cough, marcel) realized it was the wrong route, so we turn around, dodge some trees/bushes/forests and head back to the correct destination:

this next photos are after about 4 hours and multiple stops, we reach the destination (though according to some wise souls, "the destination is the way..."). we relax...not looking forward to the hike back. def not thinking of the next day:

after ~ 6hrs we made it back to the car:

day 2 rolls around (and my battery dies, so there aren't too many pics). we hike (more like climb and crawl) for a good 3 hrs or so, and as i thought we were nearing the end, i look up and see this. this thing was perfectly vertical. and perfectly perpendicular to the ground. and 100+ meters. and, so, this is where i go no further. luckily i had some company...(and btw, we weren't afraid, just cared enough about our friends/family that we didn't want them to go through the trouble of cleaning up the bloody mess when we fell off or making funerals arrangements...):

after another ~6hrs of climbing, we are on our way back down. the road is completely covered in fog, but inside the car...we are warmly serenaded by the much "hollow" cosmo:

monday morning, knees and ankles killing me, we head back to the crazy world of jo-burg. as another wise soul said, "it's tough to work in the south africa..."